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Yesterday, I started reading "In the shadow of the sword" by Tom Holland. This morning, I read the Enes Karic quote. I looked him up & found that he now works as a professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo. Especially dealing with their immediate realm, the history of interpretation of the Qur'an and the methodology of interpretation of the Qur'an.

According to Holland, "To understand the origins of Islam, and why it evolved in the way that it did, we must explore the empires and religions of late antiquity". While researching the book Holland found that the oldest biography of Mohammed was written two hundred years after he had died and that scholars were unsure on how much early Islamic history could be considered accurate. The book received mixed reviews, with one critic saying it was "a work of impressive sensitivity and scholarship", whilst another said, "His message is tailor-made for a time when Isla­mophobia is a global fashion, and everything that is labelled 'Islamic' or 'Muslim' is looked upon with suspicion." However, a third critic believes it is impossible to find any Islamophobic content in the book. Holland sets out his stall very well & suggests that Karic's (& other Islamic scholars') efforts are akin to welding rusty air, (my words), because they use circular reasoning to keep the logic functioning. It's worth reading.